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elsewhere at this season and they are neither particularly rare nor hard to dis- 

 cover. Rather bare sandy or clayey soil along roadsides and in fallow fields 

 are likely places to look for them and, like many another moss, when once you 

 become familiar with their appearance and habits you may readily collect them 

 again and again in hitherto unlooked-for places. 



It is somewhat the same with Pleuridium subulatum, whose "emerald dew- 

 drops," to which Dr. Grout likens their immature fruiting condition, may be 

 picked up in many an old field hereabouts in April. The capsules in this spe- 

 cies are immersed and the moss is small, indeed, but the clumps may be several 

 inches square and so abundant that they are truly conspicuous. Near Mt. 

 Gretna, Pennsylvania, one mid-May, we came across a field literally filled with 

 fertile Pleuridium, and the dainty tiny plants in myriads, their capsules then 

 quite brown and mature, made a sight not to be forgotten. 



The cosmopolitan Ceratodon purpureus covers certain sandy areas in south- 

 ern New Jersey and, during April, the massed purple sporophytes take the 

 sunlight in such a way that they are genuinely colorful and impressive. lAt 

 the end of April we may collect the ripened capsules and examine the annu us 

 setting free the delicate teeth of the peristome, which, indeed, resemble the 

 slender horns of some imaginary microscopic gazelle. Mnium cuspidatum ma- 

 tures at the same time, and on Memorial Day we may expect the ripe capsules 

 of Pohlia nutans. 



Those curious little urn-like fruits of Physcomitrium turhinatum, too, are 

 a frequent vernal sight in the grassy places of our region. The capsules attain 

 maturity irregularly and in the same clump we may see them exhibiting every 

 shade of green, light-brown, and dark chestnut. This moss is most easily deter- 

 mined and it soon becomes a pleasant companion on our May-time excursions. 



But of all the mosses of the spring, perhaps the most remarkable is Bux- 

 baumia aphylla. I first came to know this little "hump-backed elf," as Mrs. 

 Britton calls it, on a memorable day in April some years ago, when for the first 

 time Leucohryum glaucum was found by us in rich fruiting condition. It was 

 at the edge of an old woods near Radnor Hunt, Pennsylvania, and glancing 

 down, I perceived what looked like small glossy brown buds on a shaded bank, 

 accompanied by Dicranella and undeveloped plants of the lichen Cladonia. 

 Further investigation showed that these "buds," On stalks a half-inch high, 

 were capsules of Buxbaumia, which occurred there in considerable numbers. 

 Subsequent finds of Buxbaumia along Wissahickon Creek and in the Pocono 

 Mountains have always awakened a thrill, but never quite such a thrill as that 

 first discovery. 



What a strange little moss it is! Saprophytic in habit, it occupies among 

 the mosses somewhat the position that the Indian Pipe and Pinesap do in the 

 Heath Family. What has been its history throughout the ages? How has it 

 become different from most of its congeners? Ample food there for thought, 

 for theoretical meditation, and perhaps even for philosophical discussion! 



6620 Germantown Ave., 

 Pelham, Philadelphia, Pa. 



